One of the biggest questions being asked at the moment is…..
What are the lines going to be for the playoffs?
Personally I think they will look much like they did during the last 20 games of the season. The returns of Curtis Brown and Ryan Clowe throw a monkey wrench into the whole situation. Here you have a team that has been playing some great hockey with a key player out of the line up for most of the season and now that he is back you have to ask, where does he fit in? One of the keys to the Sharks outstanding play over the last two months has been consistency. Players have developed some chemistry with the linemates they are playing with and the ship has been sailing without much concern. The last thing, in my opinion, you would want to do is disrupt that. So where do you fit them in? That is a tough question that I am sure Ron Wilson will have an answer for.
The top line has been on fire but there is the question of the Cheechoo injury. Is he going to be able to come back and continue the great play he was showing before the hit from Kunitz against the Ducks. Joe will be under a ton of pressure as Calgary will try to take him off his game, so it is going to be very important for Milan and Cheech to keep the feet moving and always working to get to a spot where Joe can get them the puck. I would like to see Milan carrying the puck into the zone a lot and using his speed to get by people.
The second line is where we might see some changes. This line has been arguably the best line in the last month. They have created a ton of scoring chances with their speed and Pavelski and Marleau have been great cycling the puck on the boards. Marleau and Pavelski have continued to find their way to the front of the net and have cashed in on many chances recently. If this big tough Calgary team pushes around Pavs and Seto too much and takes them off their game we may see Clowe moved onto that line.
The third line, Rissmiller, Mitchell, and Grier have been lights out on most nights. This line you just have to leave alone. These guys work so well together and you rarely see these guys miss an assignment. Offensively they have not brought much but you can guarantee these guys will be out there when the pace of the game needs to be slowed down a bit. This is probably the best third line in the league.
The fourth line is the mix and match line. You can bet you will find Jeremy Roenick in this neck of the woods. Others often native to this habitat are Jody Shelley, Curtis Brown, Marcel Goc, and recent return Ryan Clowe who is better than a fourth liner but may find himself here to start the playoffs. This is just a guess but I think we will see something like this……Due to the back to back games I am thinking the fourth line will probably be Brown and Clowe with Shelley going over Roenick. Shelley will have to be in the line up the first night so the tone can be set. If the Sharks come away with the win Shelley will likely sit the next night in favor of Roenick. Just my thoughts.
So what are your thoughts? Who will be where tomorrow in your mind?
Word is the players are not wearing different color jerseys at practice that would associate them with any line. Everyone is dressed the same to keep things a little more “Secretive”. Obviously if you are paying attention you can tell what the likely possibilities are. I guess we shall see what Wilson has up his sleeve tomorrow.
If it is not broke, don’t fix it. Chemistry goes a long way and so does inconsistency, patience comes difficultly this time of year but it is usually best to stick with what has been working.
Join the Discussion:
»